Archive for month: May, 2010

It has been a long and challenging year for us here at Cipher Prime, which is why it is with overwhelming joy that we can finally announce the release of Fractal, our latest effort downloadable for both Mac and PC.

Fractal almost defies explanation; we’ve been working on it for 15 months and we still can’t sum it up in a sentence. As with Auditorium, it’s insanely complex to describe but incredibly intuitive to play.

Here’s a bit about the game:

Push on fractals. Arrange them into clusters of seven or more to make a Bloom. Watch the Bloom as it explodes with glory, gaining you seven or more clears. Progress through levels by gaining clears, using power-ups and specialized fractals to aid you along the way.

The most exciting part about this game is its diversity. There are different styles a player can utilize, each one having strengths and weaknesses. Best of all, there are three different modes of play, so varied that they feel like entirely different games:

Campaign ModeThis is the Grand Adventure. Each level has a different challenge you’ll have to face. You have a limited number of pushes which you can gain back in various ways. There’s no timer so you can play at your own pace — whether you choose to sit and think or click wildly is up to you. The levels are shaped by the way you play them — do well in one and the next might be forgiving; show off for a higher score and you might find yourself running out of pushes. This mode is all about going at your own pace and relaxing.

Puzzle ModeHere’s where we test your cunning intellect. You’ll be handed a particular number of pushes in a very specific situation with concrete goals to achieve. Each puzzle forces you to push the limits of the rule system; some puzzles have ten solutions, others only have one. Aside from being tons of fun, puzzle mode will help you gain an acute understanding of what is possible in the world of Fractal, which will improve your gameplay considerably.

Arcade ModeHere’s where we flip Campaign Mode upside down. You’ll be given infinite pushes — so go crazy, click all over the place — however the catch is that you’ll be timed. The clock starts with 20 seconds. Only special fractals with a clock symbol will give you time back, so you must choose where to click wisely. Choose from three different playing styles: Speed, Agility, and Confidence. Each one will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Like Auditorium, music is a crucial element in the experience. Our new MusicBox audio engine is capable of building songs on the fly, generating unique melodies based on the gameplay and adding or taking away elements based on progress and circumstance.

Fractal is our attempt to turn a simple concept into a rich audio-visual experience. The game seems to come to life, flourishing vibrantly as you progress and withering in fear when you fail. The environment serve as an indication of your position in the game; a seasoned player can sense danger without ever looking at the HUD.

We hope you’ll enjoy the game as much as we do. With local and global scoreboards in each mode, you can track your progress with other players around the world… Maybe you’ll even beat us some day.

Give the Fractal demo a try at www.playfractal.com. The full version, complete with all three modes of play, is available for $14.99 at https://store.cipherprime.com/promo/fractal.

You can also purchase the full-length Fractal theme, “Iterate!”, at https://store.cipherprime.com/purchase/15 for $0.99. If you preordered, you should see a free copy of the theme sitting in your CP Store account. This is just a small way for us to say, “Thanks!”

For all you tuned-in cats, we’ve been having a rather… interesting time these past two days. We had to postpone the Fractal Launch until this afternoon because of server related issues yesterday. Today, Media Temple was DDoS’d and we were thrown for another loop. Internally, we’ve been having stupid issues with Windows 7 permissions and uninstalls. Fast forward to 12:14 AM EST, and we’ve obliterated all our nice little “obstacles” with a smile on our face ready to say, “You can now download Fractal from the Cipher Prime Store.”

We will be posting an Official Announcement tomorrow along with a reminder email for everyone who preordered or is a part of the mailing list.

If you preordered you’ll also notice a nice freebie in your account. Dain whipped you ladies and gents up a sexy Fractal Theme. Since you love us enough to preorder, we love you enough to give you something a little extra. For anyone who missed the preorder, the track will also be available for $0.99 at www.playfractal.com

Thank you so much for all your patience. As with any release, I’m sure there will be bugs. Please shoot an email to support@cipherprime.com and we’ll do everything we can to help!

I sure hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’ve been running a lot of download tests today and we just weren’t happy with the results. Preorders have really picked up over the past few days, so we wanted to make sure nothing goes wrong and that everyone will have a happy fast download. Unfortunately, we were not very pleased with these results earlier in the day. Luckily, we have now reworked the downloading system and are extremely happy. All the tests we’ve done in the past few hours have been superb to say the least.

However, it’s very late over here now and we’re a bit hesitant about hitting that button. No matter how much you test, you never know what can happen. For this reason, we are holding back the Fractal Launch until tomorrow afternoon ( Tuesday, May 25th ). I cannot apologize enough. In the end, we are only trying to make sure everyone has a better experience.

We are incredibly excited and cannot wait until tomorrow afternoon! See you then!

We are really excited to announce that today is the last day of preorders. At midnight EST tonight we will be shutting down the preorder system. Until then, preorder for $9.99 and receive a 33% savings off our launch price. Head on over to the store and preorder now!

This is also very exciting, because it means the launch is right around the corner! Keep your eyes peeled for news on the upcoming release. More news VERY SOON!

We have also launched a new unified mailing list system today. This means you’ll no longer have to worry about receiving multiple emails. You can easily unsubscribe or subscribe at any of our gaming sites.

Also, we would like to offer a big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped spread the word about Fractal. Keep it up!

We’re pleased – stoked, even – to announce that after 15 long months, Fractal is (very nearly) done! Head on over to www.playfractal.com THIS VERY INSTANT to play the demo and log a high score!

To celebrate, we’re accepting pre-orders! Fractal will list for $14.99 (a dollar for every month of development), but from now until May 20th, you’ll be able to pick it up for $9.99 – $5 bucks off, or a 33% savings! Some things you might want to know about Fractal:

It’s Not Bejeweled.Do you like to think? Miss “easy to learn, hard to master” gameplay? Then buddy, do we have the game for you! Fractal is powered by a simple mechanic that fuels complex emergent patterns.

It’s Big. We’ve designed a deep game that tickles every part of your brain. Fractal has Campaign Mode for progress junkies, Puzzle Mode for Rubik’s Cube enthusiasts, and Arcade Mode for the ADD – prepare for hours of work-destroying gameplay!

It’s Downloadable. That’s right! Fractal is PC/Mac compatible, and you’ll be able to download both versions with your purchase.

It’s Coming Soon.Fractal will ship in late May, so pre-order now to get your best savings!

We absolutely have to thank each and every one of you – your support for Auditorium, kind words, and friendly reminders that we haven’t updated in a while remind us that we have people out there that care what we do. As always, questions and comments are welcome and encouraged.